Swine Flu, Fort Worth, and the Pate Family

I'm sure that many of you have heard different things regarding the Swine Flu in Texas--especially the DFW area.

For the sake of all of our midwestern family and friends, I thought I'd take a few minutes to describe our situation.

First of all, please don't worry too much. I'll list the facts:

-There are 7 confirmed cases in the entire Dallas County
-There are 5 confirmed cases in the entire Tarrant County (our county)
-There has been 1 confirmed case in the entire FWISD
-FWISD was shut down yesterday (sending 85,000 students to sit at home for a week)
-a few random schools have also shut down

At my small, private school, we have had no cases, nor are we shut down.

That's not to say that my principal is not taking every precaution to make sure that we don't have a problem. If any case is reported, we will be immediately shut down for a minimum of 7-8 days.

In the mean time, our cleaning crew wipes down the desks, door handles, railings etc. with disinfectant wipes. Each room, by the end of this week, will have been sprayed with a special disinfectant (carpets, corners, and closets). Each room will also have 3 hours of some sort of atomizer that takes the germs out of the air.

I am very careful, as well. I hum the ABC song as I wash my hands (thus washing for 20 seconds as the health department recommends). I'm using hand sanitizer and I don't hug the kids.

Should I experience anything out of the ordinary, as far as "flu-like symptoms" or fever, I will see the doctor immediately.




On a happier note, I'll be posting my 1st trimester picture this weekend...you can see a difference.

This is "Mama Pate" signing off....